A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 06 eBook

The viceroy, Don Alfonso de Castro, dying in 1607,
was succeeded as governor by Alexias de Menezes, archbishop
of Goa, pursuant to a patent of succession. Next
year, 1608, Don Joam Pereyra Frojas, count de Feyra,
was sent out from Portugal as viceroy of India, but
died on the voyage. After administering the government
for two years and a half, the archbishop was succeeded
as governor by Andrew Furtado de Mendoza in 1609,
who was soon afterwards superseded in the same year
by Ruy Lorenzo de Tavora, who came out from Portugal
as viceroy. At this time, Don Jerome de Azevedo
commanded in Ceylon, who, with an army of 700 Portuguese
troops and 25,000 Cingalese took and burnt the city
of Candy, on which the sovereign of that central dominion
made peace with the Portuguese, consenting to the
ministry of the Franciscans in his dominions, and
even placed two of his sons in their hands, to be
instructed in the Christian religion.

About this time, a large English ship and a
ketch had an engagement with two Portuguese ships
beyond the Cape of Good Hope, which escaped after
suffering a severe loss. These English ships went
afterwards to Surat, where they were found by Nunno
de Cunna, who had four well-manned galleons, but ill
provided with gunners, who were ignorant and cowardly.
On descrying these large ships, though the English
had reason to be afraid of their number, they undervalued
them as heavy sailors, and immediately engaged and
fought them till evening, killing 30 of the Portuguese.
The engagement recommenced at day-light next morning,
and two of the Portuguese galleons, endeavouring to
run on board the large English ship, got aground,
on which the pink or ketch, belonging to the enemy,
kept firing its cannon upon one of the grounded galleons,
till it floated off with the evening tide. The
other two galleons fought the large English ship all
day. On the third day, all the four galleons
being afloat, endeavoured to board the enemy, who relied
on their cannon and swiftness, and sailed away to
Castelete, a bay of the pirates near Diu. De
Cunna followed them thither, and again fought them
for two days, in all which time the Portuguese ships
could never board them by reason of their unwieldy
bulk. At length the English stood away, shewing
black colours in token that their captain was slain.
In these long indecisive actions, the English and
Portuguese both lost a number of men. The English
made for Surat, followed still by De Cunna; on which
they left that port, and De Cunna returned to Goa.